


Crying Blood, Bleeding Tears

by softency



Category: GOT7, JJ Project
Genre: Alternate Universe - Beauty and the Beast Fusion, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Amnesia, Angst with a Happy Ending, Beauty and the Beast Elements, Confused Park Jinyoung (GOT7), Falling In Love, Idiots in Love, Im Jaebum | JB-Centric, It's Loosely Based On The Plot But Not Really, Just Keep It In Mind lol, M/M, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Soft Im Jaebum | JB, Soulmates, Vampire Im Jaebum | JB
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:07:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25574794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softency/pseuds/softency
Summary: “Why is that one painting so precious to him?” He faintly hears Jinyoung ask; the others must be here too.“It’s the last thing he has left of him. That man… he was Jaebum’s everything.” Mark responds gently and Jinyoung’s hand leaves him.-When I saw you I fell in love, and you smiled because you knew.-Romeo and Juliet
Relationships: Im Jaebum | JB/Park Jinyoung
Comments: 14
Kudos: 134





	Crying Blood, Bleeding Tears

**Author's Note:**

> welcome back to suffertown™️  
> small fyi: flitting = those quick blinks where vamps move fast

A sound echoes loud enough to draw him a bit awake, deep sleep still having him in his clutches, but the moment he feels the wards on the front door disturbed and someone enters the castle he’s sitting up, trying to wake himself up as quickly as possible. 

“Fuck…” Jaebum breathes out, blinking his eyes in an attempt to try to clear out his hazy vision. He must have slept too long this time. 

As soon as he hears a crash and the heart rate skyrockets he’s to his feet, stumbling a bit before flitting through the castle in search of the intruder.

By the time he’s gotten to the main lobby area the man is already halfway down the steps to the grounds below. Jaebum follows him silently, moving from shadow to shadow to remain hidden, but not trusting the stranger enough to leave him alone just yet.

He’s actually about to let him leave, his own exhaustion creeping back in on his movements, before he feels a disturbance at the gardens.

It only takes seconds for him to get down to where the other man is, sneering silently when he sees that he has stopped at one of his rose bushes and is looking at them like he’s about to consider taking one. 

The moment Jaebum sees him make the conscious decision to pick one and steal it from the vine, it’s over. He can feel the anger flow through him, moving him on instinct as he flits towards the man, grabbing him and wrenching the rose out of his hand. 

_Jaebum knows he shouldn’t lose his temper like this, he shouldn’t, but he does._

“You _dare steal_ from me?” Jaebum seethes, watching the young man’s eyes blow wide in fear, but he can’t bring himself to care much about it right now. All he can register is bitter anger, anger that’s been brewing for nearly a century and that now is being let out, it’s explosive. 

“Wait- I-” The man tries, but it’s too late, he’s already seeing red as he grabs a hold of the man and flits back towards the castle, moving in blinks until he’s up a flight of stairs and throws the man inside of the cage. 

_He deserves it,_ his mind supplies as he pulls down the lever to lock the door closed. _He stole, he shouldn’t be spared just like Jaebum wasn’t spared._

Not even a day later Jaebum is drawn out of his peaceful atmosphere with a soft _‘hello?’_ coming from the front doors.

His ears immediately perk up, head turning as he hears a male voice, probably around his age, calls out, echoing through his home. _Surely someone wouldn’t be so stupid as to enter a castle that someone just disappeared into? Are people honestly that stupid now?_

 _“Who said that?”_ The shaky voice echoes off the walls a bit louder as he calls out. “Who’s there?”

Jaebum grips the edge of his desk in irritation, not wanting to deal with _two_ mortals in the same day. He’s been alone for so many years, he doesn’t know how to react to this except to _lash out_ at everything. He just wants to be left alone, and _another human_ is in his home.

Coughing breaks him from focusing all his hearing down the stairs, his eyes flickering toward the young man. 

He can hear footsteps rush their way up the stairs, the younger voice calling out for- _oh,_ that makes sense, the thief is their brother. Tragic.

Jaebum can hear them whispering as soon as they get close enough, he can feel the increase of both of their heartbeats, the addition of the second one feeling like thunder in his ears. 

Before they can get further, Jaebum flits out from the back of the connecting hallway and towards the front, stopping far enough away for them to hear his shoes click against the marble as he closes the last of the distance, the only thing separating them that remains is the large gap between the landings.

 _“Who’s there?”_ The voice calls out, the attached heart nearly beating out of the man’s chest, tempting him dangerously. _“Who are you?!”_

Jaebum’s steps falter at that, the clear disrespect and aggression clear in the newcomer’s voice. 

“Who are _you?!”_ Jaebum hisses out, stopping right at the corner to the hallway’s entrance, keeping himself out of sight for the moment. 

_“I’ve come for my brother!”_

Oh. 

Well, that’s tragic. The man thinks that he can leave.

“Your brother is a _thief.”_ Jaebum spits out, gritting his teeth as a cry of _‘liar’_ echoes towards him. “He stole a rose.” He states gravely, irritation making his hair stand on end. He just wants this man to leave, whoever this is, he wants them gone. They’re too noisy, and he can feel the beginning of a headache forming near his temples-

“I asked for the rose. Punish me, not him.” 

That _does_ make Jaebum pause fully, that the courage the man is speaking with, the confidence, is idiotic. He must know what danger he is in coming here, talking to Jaebum like that, but he continues to act like this?

He can hear more talking between them, his mind too cloudy to pay much attention right now to every word until he hears the loud man speak at him again.

“A life sentence for a rose?” He hears directed his way, the man’s voice holding disbelief that lights the anger back inside of him from hours ago.

He flits over the gap, watching as the man- he must be around Jaebum’s age, actually. If he wasn’t so annoying, maybe Jaebum could get a good look at him. 

“I received eternal suffering for stealing, I’m merely locking him away.” He says matter-of-factly, drawing in a breath and- _oh god, terrible idea, it’s been too long since he’s been able to smell blood._ “Now, do you still want to take his place?” He grits out, trying to push back the red flooding the corners of his vision. He can’t stay here for long- he’s been without blood for at least a hundred years now as he’s been hibernating, and his body is catching up to him, the blood lust settling in. 

“Come closer, into the light.” The man all but demands, making Jaebum’s blood boil further.

He doesn’t respond, looking back at the landing on the other side of the gap, wondering if maybe he left and didn’t talk to them any longer they might leave him alone. 

Before he can even settle on the decision a candlestick is moved towards him abruptly, catching him decently off guard and making his eyes widen as he meets the man’s eyes up close. 

He watches as the man realizes who- or _what_ he’s taking to, drawing in a sharp gasp as his eyes move around Jaebum’s features, but surprisingly enough, he doesn’t back down one bit.

Jaebum knows he looks horrible, being cursed does that to you. He knows his eyes are bloodshot, his irises most likely tinged with red from the need to drink, along with the veins that are most likely apparent from the lack of blood, blue lines trailing all over his skin. It’s proof that he’s not alive, at least, not living. 

“Jinyoung- Jinyoung _don’t,_ I can-... I can handle myself here.” The younger hisses out, breaking both of them out of the trance of locking onto each other.

“‘Gyeom… You know I can’t do that.” The man- _Jinyoung,_ says gravely, looking back to the younger who’s now pressed up against the gate of the cell. “I…” He begins, but then he’s abruptly turning back to Jaebum, causing him to flit back a foot to save himself from any of the candles catching on his clothes. “I need a moment alone with him-” 

That’s all that Jaebum needs to hear for his skin to crawl, hearing the emotion cloud his voice. Jaebum is already moving, beginning to make his way back to where he’d been before Jinyoung speaks up again. 

“Are you so much of a beast to not let a man hug his brother goodbye?” 

Jaebum stops, not just stills, but fully _stops,_ stilling enough to look like a statue. 

Then, he’s turning, the movement looking out of place as he moves in human speed, it almost coming off oily, something that is a dead giveaway that he’s not human in the slightest. 

_“Forever can spare a minute.”_

_He hates the man,_ he decides. _He hates his attitude and how he speaks and everything about him._

Within a blink Jaebum is back in front of him, sneering in anger enough that half of his fangs are visible as he pulls down the lever that controls the gate, glaring at him all the while. 

“Have your fun, because when this door closes it _will not_ open again.” Jaebum hisses out, watching as the man dismisses the threat too easily and catches the younger as he throws himself at Jinyoung. 

“I’ll be alright, you-... you need to go back, you’ve got so much to lose.” He speaks into Jinyoung’s neck and Jaebum’s glare darkens as he paces slowly, hating that he has to see this, that he has to put up with this the first day he’s back. “I love you, don’t be afraid for me.”

He can nearly hear the resigned smile in Jinyoung’s voice, the creeping feeling that something is brewing in the man’s mind growing until he confirms it when words appear from the man again. “I love you too, tell the other’s I _will_ see them again. I promise, now _go.”_ Jinyoung grits out as he shoves the younger out of the cell, the other losing his footing and almost falling down the middle to his death if Jaebum hadn’t been there to catch his arm and pull him back as the sound of the gate locking in place echoes through the huge open area.

Jaebum looks wide eyed at Jinyoung in disbelief, switching back to the younger and then returning to him. “You took his place.” He breathes out, confusion brewing inside of him. _Who is this guy? Doesn’t he have a life, or friends and family he wants to return to?_

“He’s my brother.” Jinyoung spits out, making Jaebum bristle up all over again. 

“He’s a _fool,_ and so are you.” Jaebum grits out, grabbing the younger by the arms and lifting him to his feet before they’re gone, Jaebum taking them both back down to the castle gates where that stupid bike is waiting. 

Jaebum comes inside that afternoon after shadowing the younger man home, making sure that no other vampire would grab him and attack, making all of this pointless. He’s dead tired, he just- he doesn’t have the _energy_ for this, flitting the entire way back left him with spotty vision when he came to a stop in the dining room.

He can feel it, the movement of other hearts inside the castle, and it makes Jaebum’s blood freeze for a moment.

_They… Oh great, that’s just perfect. They’re back._

He passes the table, feeling the anger bubbling up inside of him as he glares at the _second_ set of plates set out, stomping his way into the kitchen. 

“Jackson!” He hisses out, finding the two fae inside just like he’d predicted. “You’re making him dinner?!”

“We thought you might appreciate the company.” Jackson sniffs, closing his eyes and turning his head away snootily, all an act, but the clear disrespect is already getting under his skin even if it isn’t real. 

“Jaebum, let me say I tried to warn him. But no, we had to make him dinner after preparing a suit for him and giving him a suite.” Youngjae rants, glaring at Jackson who looks at him with offended eyes that he’d tattle on him this easily. 

“You- You gave him a _bedroom?!_ After I specifically said that cell wasn’t to ever open again?!” Jaebum nearly yells, glaring Youngjae down, but the other doesn’t seem too phased, just pointing at Jackson.

“He did it, I had nothing to do with it.” He grumbles, and Jackson lets out a hurt squeak.

“Well- Okay, I did, but you know why I did it- He looks like-” 

“Don’t you fucking dare continue that sentence.” Jaebum yells, feeling like his entire body is buzzing in panic, knowing exactly what Jackson is talking about but not wanting to hear it out loud, wanting to just shove it away and lock it up, never to be thought about again.

“Well, he’s already here! You could at least see if it’s him!” Jackson protests, Jaebum’s anger rolling off of him like its nothing, and Jaebum knows that’s the case; he’s been around him for centuries, he’s too used to his outbursts. 

Jaebum doesn’t know what to say to that- he doesn’t even know if he _can_ deflect that, so he keeps his mouth shut, turning away grumpily to look at the fire. 

He misses being out cold. 

At least then he didn’t have Jackson and Youngjae trailing after him up the stairs to where they put Jinyoung in a room. 

Jaebum hesitantly raises his hand before closing his fist and knocking on the door harder than he intended to, but he’s still getting back used to his body, his senses are still groggy so go figure he’d miscalculate his strength too. 

“You’ll join me for dinner.” Jaebum instructs, glaring at the door unhappily that he was pressured up here to come get him. “That’s not a request.” He grumbles right after, moving to turn to walk away but Jackson’s hand on his chest stops him. 

“Gently, Jaebum. He just lost his brother and his freedom in one day, he won’t respond to you if you talk like that to him.” Youngjae lectures, shaking his head at him and making Jaebum huff in offence.

Nevertheless he turns back to the door, taking care to knock softer this time.

_“Just a moment.”_

“There he is! I told you- Now remember, be gentle-”

“Kind-” Jackson chimes in before he’s cut off too.

“And charming. When he opens the door give him a smile!” 

Jaebum blinks at them unphased, raising an eyebrow.

“Come on you old man, show me the smile!” Youngjae repeats, and Jaebum feels his lip twitch, but he does obey that request, giving him a grin and immediately the two back away. “Okay, maybe not a huge smile, you don’t want to scare him away with your fangs.”

Jaebum’s mouth drops back into a dejected frown.

“Will you… Join me for dinner?” He asks more gentle, friendlier than he’s sounded since he’s woken up. 

It takes a moment, but then the man’s voice is coming back through the door, and he sounds angry. “You really have the guts to ask me to join you for _dinner_ when you took me as a prisoner hours ago?!” The voice echoes through the door, the sound coming closer as if he’s moving around in the room. “Are you insane or just plain stupid?”

Jaebum immediately flinches, the instant rejection hurting more than he’d expected it already to.

_“I’d rather starve than eat with you.”_

That’s the final blow to knock the wind out of Jaebum’s lungs, immediately causing him to see red. 

“Fucking _fine!_ If he can’t eat with me, he won’t eat at all like he wants!” Jaebum yells, feeling himself losing his grip and in seconds he’s gone, nearly on the other side of the castle. 

He has to grip the wall when he stops, his head swimming for a moment.

All of this hurts more than he thought, he isn’t sure he can do this in this state. He’s too mentally tired and he has too much on his mind to handle someone barging into his life like this, much less someone like _Jinyoung._

_God, it just hurts._

He’s calm enough to not blow the doors off the hinges as he throws them open, hurrying to close them and lean back against them, eyes trained on the item that’s been haunting his dreams for the last century. 

Jaebum slides down the door, feeling himself deflate as he takes in the painting on the wall. His own face- what _used to_ be his face is scratched, the canvas ripped in a fit of rage he’d had when this all started. 

It’s weathered with time, the oils muddying with every coming year but the memory is still fresh in Jaebum’s mind; the pose they’d held for hours, the warmth that had filled him looking into those eyes, the way those hours had flown by without him really realizing it. With everything Jaebum has lost, though, they didn’t take this. They spared him this one thing, and it’s the only thing that’s kept him sane. 

He doesn’t allow himself to stay too long, it all begins to ache again if he does, but looking into those eyes again always grounds him. This time isn’t any different, nothing has changed in the painting since the last time and Jaebum is thankful for that. 

_“I don’t understand why you’re being so nice to me.”_ He can hear him from all the way in the library, the castle having long gone silent with night settling like a blanket outside. 

_“He’s not… He’s not as bad as he seems.”_ Mark’s voice floats, the inhuman lightness making Jaebum’s breath catch. He didn’t know Mark was back already too. _“Somewhere inside of him is a lover that’s been damned by fate. He’s not a horrible man, he’s just struggling to adjust with the cards he’s been dealt since you came here.”_

 _Struggling,_ Jaebum huffs out a laugh as he repeats that in his mind, picking at the frayed cover of the book. _That’s the nicest way to put it, he supposes. It’s better than saying he feels like he’s dying all over again._

It isn’t minutes later before he can feel a disturbance coming from his bedroom, his hair standing on end. He waits a few seconds, making sure it isn’t one of the other guys before he’s to his feet and is moving faster than he has in centuries. 

He’s inside of the room before even he can register everything, grabbing Jinyoung’s wrist in a bruising grip and trying to keep the red out from his vision, trying to keep control of his anger. 

“What. Are. You. Doing. Here.” Jaebum grits out like it’s paining him to speak, letting go of Jinyoung like he’s burned him and fliting to stand between Jinyoung and the painting, the panic making his entire body shake. 

“Who is he-”

“Get out. Everyone told you not to come here- Why are you here?!” Jaebum nearly growls out, eyes narrowed to slits in anger, but what that anger is directed at he is unsure of. “Go! Get out of here!” He nearly yells when Jinyoung doesn’t respond, that finally drawing a response out of him. 

Jinyoung stares at him with wide eyes before giving a timid nod, backing up towards the door, not turning his back on Jaebum until he’s out the door. He can hear the running footsteps slowly fade along with the frantic heartbeat, and only when it goes silent does he allow himself to deflate, tears picking at the edges of his eyes painfully. 

He ends up on the floor, looking up into those eyes yet again, even if he can barely see through the red of the tears he’s trying to hold back. 

“I’m sorry.” He says out into the air, and he doesn’t know if it’s directed towards the man in the painting who’s heard those two words millions of times now, or towards Jinyoung who just had to see him like that- see him as a _monster._

Before he can even begin to calm down, the tears still freely flowing and dyeing his blue shirt with the blood dripping down, he can hear a commotion coming from downstairs.

There are four heartbeats now, and every single one of them are spiking in panic. 

Jaebum is up on his feet before he can even register himself moving, chasing the sounds down to the main lobby, where Jackson, Mark, and Youngjae are staring at the still open door in horror. 

“What happened- Where is he? Where is he going?” Jaebum rushes out, standing in the doorway and seeing that Jinyoung is already on his bike riding away from the estate and through the gates that would protect him.

“He left.” Youngjae breathes out like he’s still registering it happening, but before anything else can be said Jaebum is chasing after him, panic thrumming in his veins more than he’s ever felt it.

Jinyoung is moving fast and Jaebum can hear those cursed werewolves chasing, the sound of growling and nipping echoing through his ears. He’s slower than he'd normally be if he was in the right mindset, but as soon as he gets there he can see one of the alphas readying to pounce, and with all the energy left in him Jaebum flits forward and crashes into the wolf’s side, sending them both flying.

He barely has time before another wolf is flying at him, and Jaebum yells when the second bites his ankle nearly strong enough to crush the bones there before he kicks him off. 

It’s been a long time since he’s had to fight creatures this strong, he’s not as good as he used to be, but it’s enough. 

One wolf is thrown and the second joins him moments later, Jaebum only realizing he’d forgotten about the first one he’d attacked when he feels pressure on his back, throwing him to the ground and pinning him there in shock and pain. He doesn’t get a second to recover before there are teeth piercing his shoulder, drawing out a loud, pained yell from him. 

He manages to unlock the wolf’s jaw and drag him off of him, shakily getting to his feet and sending him skidding across the ground with a hard kick, the wolf crashing into a rock and there’s a loud _crack_ that echoes through the forest along with a pained yelp. 

The others seem to get the idea that they aren’t an easy target any longer with Jaebum here now, trotting off after collecting the alpha who most likely broke ribs from the crash. 

Jaebum’s vision is already swimming now that he’s standing up, swaying on his feet a bit, but he manages to hold his ground between the pack and Jinyoung until he can’t hear their footsteps in the snow any longer.

He doesn’t hesitate then to collapse, all of his energy completely gone at this point. If they come back he’d try to get up again, but he doesn’t think he can get up again, not with the way his entire body feels like it’s shutting down from losing that much blood. 

He thinks he hears footsteps, ones from shoes, approaching him, but he can’t be sure. 

It doesn’t take seconds before Jaebum is knocked out, the wound from his shoulder coloring the snow around him red.

Jaebum comes back to consciousness with a pained yell, flinching away from whatever had just happened. 

_“Told you he’s alive.”_

_“He looks horrible”_

“If you hold still maybe it won’t hurt as much.” Jinyoung’s voice pipes up, making Jaebum’s eyes fly open and his head turns to confirm that it was him, and that he was still here.

He’s rendered speechless, his fight having long since drained out of him, but then Jinyoung is pressing _something_ against his shoulder again and Jaebum screams again, the pain much clearer this time.

“Ow! That Hurts!” Jaebum hisses out as he flinches away again, narrowing his eyes at Jinyoung over his shoulder. “I heal quickly, you know. I’m not human.” Jaebum complains, watching as Jinyoung purses his lips, evaluating if he should trust him before nodding a tiny bit. 

“Try to get some rest.” Jinyoung says as he gets up, his shoes clicking against the marble until the door shuts behind him and Jaebum is left alone with the three sitting around the room. 

“I haven’t seen you cry since-” Mark begins softly, but Jaebum is quick to cut him off, turning away from all of them in the bed. 

“Leave me, I’d like to ‘get some rest’ as he put it.” Jaebum huffs out, curling the blanket tighter around him. 

He can hear Jackson’s snicker before everyone slowly leaves, their heartbeats growing fainter and fainter until Jaebum cannot detect their presence anymore.

Jaebum is still a bit out of it when he wakes to someone sitting on his bed, his eyes cracking open just a tiny bit in time to see Jinyoung’s hand come towards him. 

The hand rests on his forehead gently, feeling for Jaebum’s temperature, if he had to guess. 

_“Why is that one painting so precious to him?”_ He faintly hears Jinyoung ask, and Jaebum guesses the others are here too. It must be morning now. 

_“It’s the last thing he has left of him. That man… he was Jaebum’s everything.”_ Mark responds gently and Jinyoung’s hand leaves him. 

It’s silly if he’s honest. Feeling a vampire to see if they have a temperature.

 _“That’s his name? Jaebum?”_ Jinyoung repeats a bit hesitantly, and instantly Jaebum’s chest feels like it’s caving in around his heart. 

_Yeah, that’s still the same voice he remembers._

_“What happened to him? Did he pass away?”_ Jinyoung asks quietly, audibly scared of asking in case Jaebum reacts negatively to it, but Jaebum just stays where he is, happy to just take in the much-needed rest. 

_“You’ll have to talk to him about it. It is not our place.”_ Youngjae pipes up and that seems to satisfy Jinyoung’s questions for now, thankfully.

“Doubt thou the stars are fire; Doubt the sun doth move; Doubt truth to be a liar: but-”

“-never doubt I love.” Jaebum cuts off, turning towards him and yawning lazily. 

“You know Shakespeare?” Jinyoung questions from his chair, the room still dark even though the sun should be high in the sky now. 

“Mmhm.” He hums, groggily moving to sit up against the headboard. “I had expensive schooling.”

Jinyoung seems taken back by that, but continues talking after a moment. “Actually, Romeo and Juliet is my favorite work of his.”

Jaebum nearly falls over with how hard he rolls his eyes before looking back to the other man with an eyebrow raised. “There’s so many things better to read; all that heartache and the pining for nothing but a tragedy ending, ugh.” Jaebum complains dramatically, scrunching his nose up like he tasted something revolting. 

“Like what? I haven’t heard you reciting books while I’ve been here.” Jinyoung counters, a challenge in his voice and it makes Jaebum’s eyes slide back to meet his again, tilting his head a bit to the side. 

_It figures he wouldn’t have found it by now but found this room in days._

“I’ll show you, give me a moment alone to change.” Jaebum says and gives him a soft smile, catching Jinyoung off guard, but the other man nods, returning the smile before heading to wait outside his chamber’s doors. 

“Now...” Jaebum begins, pushing open the doors to the library and walking inside without hesitation. “There are a couple of things in here you can begin with.” 

When Jaebum doesn’t hear a reply after a beat he turns to look at him, another question on his lips but when he sees the look of awe and wonder decorating Jinyoung’s features every thought slips away. 

It takes him a few seconds to get his words back, but Jinyoung doesn’t seem to notice, staring at the rows and rows of books on the walls. “Are you alright?”

Jinyoung takes his time responding, spinning in his place before turning back to Jaebum. “It’s amazing- I’ve never… I’ve never seen a library this beautiful.” He breathes out, and Jaebum can feel another piece of his heart chip away, a longing memory trying to get back his attention, but he tries his best to stay present. 

“Well…” Jaebum begins nonchalantly looking away to make sure Jinyoung couldn’t fully read the emotions he knows are glassing over his eyes. “If you like it so much, then it’s yours.” He says as he turns away, walking deeper into the library. 

He can hear Jinyoung’s heart skip a beat, and he forces himself to not think anything of it. 

“Have you read all of these?” Jinyoung’s voice echoes towards him and he pauses, tilting his head to the side to think if he actually _has._

“Not all of them.” He replies, his voice light and airy. “Some are in Latin and Greek.” 

It takes a second before there’s a snort of a laugh behind him and he twirls around to catch it with his own eyes.

“Was that a joke? From you?” He asks, his lips curled up into a kittenish grin at the corners of his mouth. 

Jaebum huffs in mock offence, turning back as he fights back a giddy smile. 

_Maybe this isn’t that bad after all._

It’s endearing when he arrives in the dining room and sees Jinyoung already there, waiting for him with his nose deep into a book. 

Jaebum can’t eat, he can’t keep human food down for a minute before he’s throwing it back up. He usually will just sit with him and listen to him as he on and off reads out loud or they chat the entire time, telling each other about their lives as children. 

“Jaebum?” Jinyoung’s voice breaks the silence as Jaebum crosses his legs underneath himself in the chair, drinking a small bit of blood that Youngjae spared him in a wine glass. He lets out a small hum, taking in a mouthful of the blood and sighing contently. “Who is that man in the painting?” He asks quietly and Jaebum freezes fully, going still in surprise at the question. He takes a moment to recover, nodding a tiny bit when he does. 

“He was… my lover?” He begins a bit awkwardly. “I’m not sure how to describe it- It was complicated. We loved each other though, we spent hundreds of years together. He was a vampire too, I uh, I turned him. Willingly, of course!” He rambles, a bit nervous to bring all of his back up because it all hurts so badly. 

“They mentioned that you’re cursed?” Jinyoung inquires, popping a bite of meat into his mouth. 

“...I am.” He says after a moment, not really knowing how to approach this. “The curse is attached to us both.” 

“But if he’s dead then wouldn’t that mean it would break?” Jinyoung mumbles around the bite, horrible table manners, but surprisingly Jaebum can’t bring himself to care. 

“That was one of the terms, we were separated by death.” He responds quietly, the ache building up again. “We got into some trouble with a sorcerer by accident and he wasn’t forgiving. We bargained both of our souls and here I am, stuck here without him.”

“What happened? Did he just… die and you’re left here? Or was there more involved?”

“I… He was damned to death, and we were separated until he finds his way back to me. This estate, it’s hidden away from the world and he was made to not be able to remember anything, it’s near impossible for him to return.” He tries to explain, those memories and details blurry around the edges. 

“That’s horrible, you’ve been stuck here alone all this time then?” Jinyoung says, setting his fork down with a slight frown. 

“It’s not… horrible. I have those three fae that seem to just love it here.” He says, a sarcastic lilt to his voice, just joking around, but he’s thankful that he manages to erase the frown from his lips. 

“And me.” Jinyoung adds in, and it shouldn’t hurt as much as it does. 

“And you.” He confirms, painting a smile on his lips to mask it.

Jinyoung looks up at him as he enters the dining room the next night like usual with his glass, though this time he passes by his chair at the end of the table, taking hesitant steps towards Jinyoung’s side and pulling out a chair to sit beside him. 

“Can I try your drink?” Jinyoung asks curiously, completely surprising him halfway through dinner. 

Jaebum raises an eyebrow but inches the glass towards him across the table, watching intently as Jinyoung picks it up without hesitation. 

When Jinyoung tips the glass to his lips Jaebum expects him to sputter, maybe even spit it out, but he doesn’t. Jinyoung’s eyebrows draw together in the center like he’s torn between what he feels, licking over his teeth before returning Jaebum’s glass to him. 

“It’s not bad, I feel like it’d be addicting if I drank it enough. Kind of like coffee.” Jinyoung comments offhandedly, picking back up his fork and popping more meat into his mouth. 

Jaebum quickly tries to hide how he _knows_ his own pupils blew out, not knowing what to do with the fact that Jinyoung _doesn’t hate_ the taste of blood like he should. 

“Well, I- I saw him in the _ballroom_ and I- _I was joking-_ I said well, you’re making everything so beautiful again, we might as well have a dance tonight.” Jaebum rambles panicked, sipping on the blood bag in between strings of words. “I never imagined he’d say _yes!”_ He squeaks out, earning a sigh from Mark as he moves over and takes the blood away from him. 

“Stop being so nervous, you’ve danced with men before.” Mark fusses over him, making sure his hair is neat and that nothing is out of place. “We went through all this trouble to remake you into your old self to try to-”

Jaebum lets out a strangled noise, barely even able to look at himself in the mirror. 

His skin is glazed over with foundation that covers the veins, and somehow they’ve taken the red away from his eyes through dark brown contacts. He almost looks human, he almost looks _normal._

“Oh shush, we’re trying to help. Besides, seeing you like this is nice for us too, you know. You haven’t looked the least bit alive since he left.” Youngjae chimes in, making sure the strands that are swept up and out of his face are securely in place. “You look handsome, if he doesn’t react in any way then that’s his loss.”

Jinyoung does in fact give a response to seeing him for the first time coming down his side of the stairs.

Jaebum can feel himself get flustered, averting his eyes and forcing himself not to lick his lips, not wanting to erase the tint they’d put on. He’s not sure if he can do this, not when Jinyoung is looking at him like _that._ He also can’t trust himself to act right when Jinyoung looks like _that,_ in a black suit completely tailored to him, gold details everywhere. 

He can already feel it coming again as he extends his arm for Jinyoung, allowing him to move closer so they can walk down together to the ballroom. It feels like an out-of-body experience, like it’s a dream that he’s going to wake up any time now from, but with each step they descend it becomes more and more obvious that this is all real.

His hands shake as he takes Jinyoung’s hand in his own, guiding him into the ballroom that’s the most alive he’s seen it since even before everything happened. 

Before he knows it he’s being drug from his thoughts as Jinyoung bows to him, rendering Jaebum speechless but in the moment after he mirrors the action, finally meeting his eyes for the first time tonight and immediately knowing he’s never going to be able to look away. 

Jinyoung rests his hand against Jaebum’s waist as he ghosts the other hand up Jaebum’s forearm, lacing their fingers together with a gentleness he’s seen Jinyoung touch so many things with during his time here. 

Jaebum’s free hand rests against Jinyoung’s shoulder, not daring to look away from his eyes, fearing that if he possibly does the moment will fall apart. For what it’s worth, Jinyoung seems to be in a similar state, seemingly getting lost in his own mind before he’s back and taking the first step and easing them into a gradual waltz. Jackson must have charmed the piano because there’s no sign of anyone else in the ballroom, yet the music is flowing without hesitation from the instrument as they move along with it. 

Before Jaebum can fully get used to the sway of their steps or the weight of Jinyoung’s hand against his side Jinyoung’s hand is suddenly gone from his own and the one remaining is spinning him, completely surprising him. His body thankfully moves on instinct into the turn, but in what feels like the same second Jinyoung is catching him and fingers laced back between his own. If he had time to actually think he’d feel uneasy about how quickly Jinyoung had moved and how naturally he’d caught Jaebum again. They aren’t moving slow, after all.

Jaebum’s eyes shoot back to Jinyoung’s, widening with surprise, only to see a small, playful curl at the edges of his lips. He flicks his eyes back up to hold that intense gaze again, seeing something glistening there, something gleaming there that’s dangerously familiar to Jaebum. 

Jaebum says nothing, he doesn’t know what to or even if his voice would come out at this point. It seems that their bodies are getting more accustomed to each other and therefore with each step they inch closer until their faces are mere inches apart. He licks his lips out of nervousness and Jinyoung’s eyes follow the action with no hesitation, openly dropping his eyes down and then raising them back up a second later.

The grip on his waist gets heavier in response and Jinyoung’s steps become confident, moving them sharply with each of the heartbeats felt through the music wrapping around Jaebum’s head and bleeding into his ears.

This time when he’s spun he knows how to react, easily striding back into Jinyoung’s touch with an ease that doesn’t settle right with him; he’s too comfortable right now. Yet he can’t seem to find it inside himself to place back his walls, he feels like he’s floating right now and he’s realizing he doesn’t want it to stop just yet.

A quick movement by Jinyoung snaps Jaebum right back to the present, guiding them into a few quick turns together before steadying out again to the sway of the music. It startles out a small fond grin from Jaebum, making an effort to keep up with every step Jinyoung took, mirroring the movements to the best of his ability.

Their bodies are moving in synchronization now, when one foot takes a step backwards another follows, used to how each other dance a few minutes in.

Jaebum registers the music picking up at the same time that Jinyoung speeds up his steps a bit, an indication that the song is nearly at its end.

The hands touching him grip a bit firmer as Jinyoung spins them quickly again, drawing out a small, quiet laugh out of Jaebum. He completely relaxes into Jinyoung, gliding across the marble floor and Jaebum’s entire attention solely on him.

Their movements match the rise and fall of the notes echoing through the ballroom, their bodies only mere inches away from each other now, contrasting how they had begun initially. 

Jaebum hears the music begin to slow as the song begins to fully end, willing himself to slow down alongside it even though he doesn’t want to, he wants to keep dancing right now. 

When the last notes echo through the room he forces himself to willingly part from Jinyoung, leaving the bubble they had built between themselves and giving Jinyoung a soft smile as the final note is drawn out. He places his hand behind his back and deeply bows, watching as Jinyoung mirrors his actions.

He straightens and he refuses to let himself feel disheartened right now, because even if he’s still breathless from the dance they just shared, Jinyoung is still himself and it was just a dance, nothing more, nothing less.

When he meets Jinyoung’s eyes again the gleam is gone, but the honey warmth is back.

Jaebum forces himself to not mourn the sight.

When Jinyoung reaches out and extends a hand for Jaebum to take he willingly does, following him towards the doors that lead outside to the balcony. 

It’s chilly in the night air, but it’s worth it to see Jinyoung so happy and content staring up at the stars. 

“You know, I haven’t danced since he was taken.” Jaebum comments in almost a whisper, wrapping his arms around himself self consciously. “I’d almost forgotten what that feels like.”

Jinyoung looks back at him and Jaebum has to repress the urge to lean in and kiss him, the dance having messed with his mind more than he’d thought. “I’m glad I could give you that escape, even though I’m sure he was a much better dancer than I am.” Jinyoung says lightly, a small chuckle escaping him. “This estate feels like home right now.”

Jaebum stills for a moment before licking his lips nervously, anxiety rapidly building inside of him. “Do you… Do you think you could be happy here? With me?” 

Jinyoung turns back to him with a resigned look and Jaebum already knows the answer that is going to come, but he needs to hear it for it to be real. “Can anyone be truly happy if they aren’t free?” He asks, his voice barely a whisper and another cracked piece of Jaebum’s heart falls to the floor. 

“I wouldn’t stop you, you know.” He breathes out even though it hurts, even though he’d much rather lock him up again in that cage than have to watch him leave. 

“You’re serious?” Jinyoung asks in disbelief, like he expected Jaebum to never allow him to venture from the estate’s land, and it takes another chunk from what remains in his chest. 

“You miss your brother, it’s obvious. You must miss your friends too- I can’t keep you here against your will like that. You’re more free than you’ve realized.” He mumbles, not looking back to Jinyoung, not knowing if he could let him go if he did. 

There’s sudden weight against his side and before he knows it there are arms wrapping around him, entirely too intimate for Jaebum to hold himself completely together. 

He shakily returns the embrace, his hands gripping the back of Jinyoung’s jacket. 

“When dawn breaks I want to go see him.” He mumbles quietly and Jaebum feels the majority of what hope he was holding onto drop and shatter on the tile beneath them. 

“Okay.” He breathes out, agreeing because he’s not sure he can say anything else. 

If Jinyoung notices his hands shaking, he doesn’t mention it. 

Jinyoung pops his head into Jaebum’s quarters hours later, giving him an excited smile that Jaebum can’t bring himself to return. 

“Thank you for everything, Jaebum. Thank you for letting me see them again.” He says sincerely, and Jaebum just nods, already facing away from the door.

“It’s nothing, tell him that I am sorry for acting out of anger and then keeping you away for this long.” He says simply, his voice lacking the usual emotion in its undertone. 

Yet again, if Jinyoung notices something different, he doesn’t mention it and as soon as the door clicks Jaebum feels the rest of his heart be ripped out of him for Jinyoung to leave with as well. 

_If he thought the first time was painful, it was nothing compared to having him back in his arms just to end up losing him again. He’s not dead, but Jaebum grimly doubts he will be back once he returns to the city again._

_He’s gone._

Jaebum doesn’t move for hours, not seeing any point in it after all. Jinyoung isn’t waiting for him in the library, he won’t be waiting for him at dinner, and he won’t walk up the stairs to bed with him. 

The only thing that manages to get him up is the need to look again, heading over to the painting and where Jinyoung had tacked a printed out picture of the two of them next to it. 

He can feel his eyes well up again, looking from one man to the other, knowing that it’s the same face, that it’s the same gleam in both their eyes, that they’re _the same person,_ just that this Jinyoung _isn’t his_.

Jaebum pulls back the painting’s bottom right edge that rests against the floor, picking up the stack of mismatched photos and small paintings hidden away there in a small, inconspicuous box. 

He loses time going back through them, each one the same image, both of them together, just in different years across the centuries. 

After all, this isn’t the first time Jinyoung has found his way back to him. It’s just the first time the others have been around for it.

_Maybe next time he’ll stay._

_Maybe next time Jaebum can break through to him._

Jaebum reaches up and untacks the photograph after gently packing everything away again, laying the image on top before sealing the box once again.

  
  


He Isn't sure how long it takes before Youngjae ends up finding him curled up in his bed, more blood staining his sheets and pillow than is in his body. 

“Oh Jaebum…” Youngjae breathes out, coming to sit beside him on the bed. “Where did Jinyoung go? I’ll get him for you.” He says reaching out and rubbing Jaebum’s back soothingly. 

“I let him go back.” He says hollowly, faintly registering Youngjae freeze at the information.

“You _what?!”_ Youngjae exclaims, obviously taken back that Jaebum willingly let this happen. “Jaebum- Jaebum he _could have_ loved you, you two were so close to breaking the curse.” 

“It’s okay.” He breathes out, rolling tiredly to lie on his back and look up at Youngjae. “In another hundred years he might come back and I’ll try again.” 

“That wasn’t his first time back, was it?” Youngjae asks after a beat of silence between them, his eyes widening at the realization and how horrible Jaebum must look. 

“Not even close.” Jaebum says with a bitter, weak smile as he feels his eyes well up again with tears. 

The guys _do_ manage to nearly force feed him blood, only succeeding after threatening him extensively. 

He’s not sure why this time it hurt further than it ever has, but it does. Maybe this time it’s because he gave him full access to his heart, opening up to the possibility of this finally working more than he ever has in the past. 

Maybe it’s just the curse saying his time is about to run out. 

  
  


He exists in that state of limbo for at least two months, never feeling completely there, only just passing through. 

When he hears the wards ripple at the gate he doesn’t think much of it, sitting on the edge of his bed, staring up at the painting again. He faintly hears a heartbeat, not registering how quickly it’s beating until the wards at the front door are disturbed and whoever it is comes running into the house, making their way directly towards Jaebum’s bedroom in the west wing. 

He can’t bring himself to care the slightest if this is a hunter, figuring that if they can get inside by now that Jaebum might deserve to get what has been coming for ages.

The doors burst open and they nearly fall through the doors, giving Jaebum nearly no time to look up and see who it is before they’re thrown at him, making Jaebum fall back against the bed with the person on top of him. 

“You- You _idiot,_ I can’t believe you just let me go like that.” Jaebum stills, terrified that if he does anything or even moves an inch that Jinyoung might disappear into a hallucination. “You’re insane, I can’t believe-” Jinyoung rambles, clearly upset, pulling back a bit to look him in the eyes for whatever he’s about to say. “You knew it was me the entire time, that’s not _fair.”_ Jinyoung says and Jaebum can see the tears already in his eyes. 

The second Jaebum meets his eyes his breath is knocked out of him. That gleam he’d seen for a moment while dancing is back full force, the same fire burning in Jinyoung’s eyes that he can remember falling in love with. 

“You waited all this time- You let me _leave_ countless times! What would you have done if it didn’t come back to me this time?!” Jinyoung fusses, moving to press close to him, tucking his face in his neck. “It felt like I was being torn apart, you know, remembering everything came in parts- our life together came last- but I had to see how you looked at me _every time_ I decided to leave-”

“It’s alright, I managed to handle myself.” He whispers as he wraps his arms around Jinyoung’s middle, feeling a violent sob immediately shake through Jinyoung at the sound of his voice again. “You always seem to come back eventually. I had all the time in the world to wait for you to come again.”

“I love you.” Jinyoung breathes out, his voice wet from the tears that are already getting his neck wet. “How did you get mixed up with the fae? They always terrified you.” He asks with a soft laugh, making a grin break out across Jaebum’s lips. 

“I have no idea, they just kind of showed up one century when I woke up and didn’t leave.” Jaebum responds honestly, one of his hands moving upwards a bit to rub Jinyoung’s back soothingly. 

“I can’t believe you gave me _my own_ library.”

Jaebum laughs loud enough that the others hear it all the way near the front doors, reassuring them that it worked, that Jinyoung is back and managed to fight through the curse like he’d said. 

Gradually as days pass Jaebum’s features go back to how they were, the undead giveaways melting away to make him nearly pass as human on the outside.

Jinyoung seems to fall into his old ways that Jaebum vividly remembers, prancing around their home like he owns the place. A month in Jinyoung finally convinces Jaebum to turn him again, and it isn’t pretty, but it’s successful. 

If Jaebum cried the second Jinyoung’s eyes opened, he wouldn't admit it later. 

Jinyoung is still close with his brother and friends even though he gradually somehow moves into the castle again, more and more of his things and clothes appearing with each trip he takes back until everything is situated where he wants them. Yugyeom eventually warms up to him after Jinyoung sits him down and gives him their entire story, enough to sometimes come and spend the night to see them when he finds time between work and school.

It takes Jaebum longer than Jinyoung by nearly two months to warm up to showing affection like they used to. Gradually small, short stolen kisses turn into getting fully distracted by each other, remapping each other’s bodies just in case something has changed.

“Jaebum?” Jinyoung’s voice calls from around the corner where he’d disappeared off into one of the connected rooms to the library. 

He makes a soft sound in acknowledgement, his eyes flicking up and getting momentarily caught on the silver cord connected to his pinky, following it until it disappears into the same room as Jinyoung. 

“I want to go to the library again soon, I’ve read all of these too.” Jinyoung huffs cutely as he pops back into view, bringing his hand up and running it through his hair, the silver cord moving along with it. He pauses, causing Jaebum to look up and meet his eyes finally. “You’re staring again.” Jinyoung comments with a soft chuckle and within a blink he’s in front of Jaebum, leaning down to press a gentle kiss to his lips. 

“I love you.” He murmurs, earning a bright smile from Jinyoung. 

“You made me come over here for that.” Jinyoung complains playfully but plops himself down in Jaebum’s lap where he’s sitting in a chair off to the side. “I love you too.” He responds though, giving Jaebum a bright smile as he steals another kiss. 

It genuinely feels nearly unreal, that after all this time Jinyoung is back to him, that the cycle has finally broken. 

It took centuries, but Jaebum finally has his soulmate back for good.

* * *

**_When I saw you I fell in love, and you smiled because you knew._ **

**_-Romeo and Juliet_ **

**Author's Note:**

> this fic rlly grew on me, I didn't expect to like it this much lol. I might be back sometime to throw in an epilogue of them just being cute vamp bfs, but until then I'll leave this like it is <3  
> as always, feedback is appreciated, I love hearing what others think of my fics! if you catch anything out of place that I haven't seen just let me know so I can fix it! <3 my fics aren't beta'd so there's bound to be something.  
> I'm decently active on [twitter](https://twitter.com/softency), so that's the best place to find new updates on wip's!  
> if you ever want to see me write something or just want to leave a message, my [cc](https://curiouscat.me/softency) is always open :)
> 
> until next time! <3


End file.
